Photo by Rowan Magee, Graphic by Alex M. Lee
Photo by Rowan Magee, Graphic by Alex M. Lee

Little did we know that our 2020 HERE RAW would be one of our last in-person productions of our “regular” season. Though the pandemic is still very much a reality, we are thrilled to continue supporting artists, and to offer a window into the creative process of our nationally recognized HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP). The 2021 program will feature workshop presentations at various stages of development, that blur the boundaries between theatre, music, dance, new media, and visual art. Whether you can join us physically – masked, distanced, and partially outdoors – or virtually from the comfort of your own home, we look forward to welcoming you to this year’s HERE RAW / Resident Artist Works!

HERE RAW / Resident Artist Works 2021 runs safely at HERE, both outdoors and in an installation-format in our Mainstage Theatre, from July 7-10, as well as in the virtual realm and continues at other locations in the city through September.

Tickets for each HERE RAW experience from July 7-10 at HERE are now on sale, and are $0-50 sliding scale. Explore each offering below or visit our Calendar and select your desired performance(s) for ticket links.
The HERE RAW 2021 Digital Programs can be viewed here.

gamin & Sachiyo Takahashi
gamin and Sachiyo Takahashi
gamin and Sachiyo Takahashi Photo by Rowan Magee

Using sound, object performance and live projection, this work-in-progress presentation of The Emotions explores the transience of things, the deep sentiment of longing and parting.

Streaming via HERE.org on July 7 at 6pm; available on-demand through September 9.

Gelsey Bell
Gelsey Bell
Gelsey Bell

Solo concert version of mɔːnɪŋ, an opera by Gelsey Bell about the triumphs and legacy of an Earth devoid of humans.

This outdoor concert occurred at HERE on July 11 at 2pm. Watch the recording via the page link below.

Normandy Sherwood
Normandy Sherwood
Normandy Sherwood photo by Jody Christopherson

Psychic Self Defense is an object focused theater piece that invites you to contemplate endlessness, endings and the nature of attention through that most basic of theater machineries – the curtain reveal.

Performance Installation in the HERE Mainstage from July 8-10, and as part of Staging Decadence on September 9; details coming soon.

Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya with the LEIMAY Ensemble
LEIMAY
LEIMAY

An indoor video portrait exhibit running parallel to an outdoor series of encounters with guests speakers, artists and community members to reflect on our post-industrial relationship with food.

Video Installation in the HERE DOT Theatre from July 8-10, 2-8pm. Reserve for a one-hour time slot.
Outdoor Storytelling Circle at HERE on July 9 at 6pm.
Outdoor Conversation at HERE on Food Insecurity on July 10 at 3pm.
Outdoor Dinner Experience at HERE on July 10 at 5pm.

Grace Galu & Baba Israel

Grounded in the Hip Hop tradition of the remix, Baba Israel and Grace Galu’s band Soul Inscribed mash-up iconic music, dance, and stories of countercultural icons into a time-traveling tale of jubilation, injustice, and transformation.

Live Outdoor Concert at CultureLab at 8pm – Entry is free, no RSVP is required.
Live Outdoor Concert at Little Island on August 12 at 7:30pm – tickets available soon.

Shayok Misha Chowdhury

An artist son studies his physicist mother. She studies the strange behavior of sand. Together, they attempt to understand the science—the story—of how things flow.

Live Outdoor Concert at Little Island on August 18 at 6:30pm – tickets available soon.

Imani Uzuri

Imani Uzuri’s Songs of Sanctuary for the Black Madonna will be an immersive ritual opera inspired by her international sojourns to shrines dedicated to the holy (and oft controversial) Black Madonna. 

August 22 on Zoom

During this Aug 22nd work in progress zoom session, Uzuri will discuss and share images from her recent research trips and sojourns to over 30 Black Madonna shrines in Kosovo, Italy, France, Spain, Macedonia, Lithuania and Bavaria; plans for future sojourns to Mexico, Trinidad, Central and South America and the themes of prayer, worship and Black feminine divinity that are central to Songs of Sanctuary for the Black Madonna.

Spencer Lott

This outdoor performance hopes to remind audiences there can be no full economic recovery until the arts sector is included. Interviewing 3-5 artists who have lost their health insurance or have been forced to find employment outside of the arts, Spencer Lott will craft 5 mythical creatures. Each portrait artist will represent the individual artist’s personal struggle. The mermaids will swim through the air along Little Island, dancing and flirting with patrons until they hear the siren song. The song will put them to the water cooler for a choreographed dance. Although they will be wearing their office attire, with their puppetry, each performer will be able to embody their full artistic identities for a fleeting moment.
Live Outdoor performance at Little Island on Wednesday, September 1, Thursday, September 2 and Sunday, September 5. More details available soon.

Nia O. Witherspoon

Inspired by the “bad bitches” of hip hop, the reproductive justice movement, and the sacred sex workers that graced Egyptian temples, Priestess of Twerk: Time Warp 332BC (A Concert Experiment) is a black feminist temple of pleasure that presents women, queer, and trans-folks of color with opportunities to re-encounter their sexualities through the lens of the sacred, increasing bodily autonomy, and dispelling toxic masculinity. In this first concert experiment, we explore music, movement, and storytelling we are investigating as a part of the larger work, which will premiere in 2023.

Performance as part of Staging Decadence on September 9; details coming soon.

Normandy Sherwood and Nia Witherspoon, plus guests

Staging Decadence is a twenty-first-century salon featuring live performances by Nia Witherspoon and Normandy Sherwood, talks on decadence and performance by Annette Saddik and Richard Kaye, and hosted by the inimitable Murray Hill. Expect occult rituals, sacred sex workers, Weimar excess, and martyred saints.